[HanCinema's News] Lee Ji-hye-I Featured in "Pachinko"

Last week the fourth episode of "Pachinko" saw the appearance of a then-uncredited guest star in a big climactic role as a famed singer who dies tragically on a ferry bound for Japan in the thirties. However, a recent social media post from "Pachinko" screenwriter Soo Hugh has confirmed the identity of this mystery singer. The part was played by none other than Lee Ji-hye-I, who is best known for her work on as a musical actress- as is evidenced by her strong voice in the scene in question.

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There, Lee Ji-hye-I can be seen abruptly changing her performance for the mostly Japanese ferry passengers from the opera song Mio Cara Bene from Rodelinda to a verse from the traditional pansori Chunhyangga. In the pansori, the title character is bullied into becoming the concubine of a corrupt magistrate. However, she refuses due toi steadfast in her love for the man who she had previously illegally married, that eventually comes to rescue her.

No such succor comes for Lee Ji-hye-I's character in "Pachinko" who is implied to have killed herself rather than face repercussions for her action of antagonizing Japanese passengers with a nationalist Korean song. The scene in question has been criticized for historical inaccuracy. Traditional Korean music was popular in Japan at this time, having been remixed to the earliest versions of trot music. Western opera was, by contrast, of relatively arcane interest to Japanese audiences.

But others have reacted more positively to the portrayal, describing Lee Ji-hye-I's performance as powerful in her act of defiance, melodrama in the face of brutality notwithstanding. This is not Lee Ji-hye-I's first appearance in a prestigious internationally-lauded production. She briefly appears as a vocalist on "Parasite" where she also did vocal work for the soundtrack. Lee Ji-hye-I was also the lead in "Werther" last year, an opera which was provided via stream to CGV theaters.

Written by William Schwartz